U.S. patent application number 14/718935 was filed with the patent office on 2016-05-12 for paper feed device.
This patent application is currently assigned to FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Marina MATSUMOTO, Yosuke TAKAHASHI, Takeshi TEMMAYA, Eiichiro YAMAGUCHI, Takeshi YONEYAMA.
Application Number | 20160130097 14/718935 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55911663 |
Filed Date | 2016-05-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160130097 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TEMMAYA; Takeshi ; et
al. |
May 12, 2016 |
PAPER FEED DEVICE
Abstract
A paper feed device includes: a tray that holds at least one
recording medium; a wall that has a portion in contact with a
leading end, in a transport direction, of the recording medium on
the tray and is disposed so as to intersect the transport
direction; and a transport member that is disposed on the
downstream side, in the transport direction, of the wall and
transports the recording medium. The wall has an opening/closing
member that is capable of being opened and closed to form an
opening through which the transport member is extracted toward the
tray.
Inventors: |
TEMMAYA; Takeshi; (Kanagawa,
JP) ; YAMAGUCHI; Eiichiro; (Kanagawa, JP) ;
TAKAHASHI; Yosuke; (Kanagawa, JP) ; MATSUMOTO;
Marina; (Kanagawa, JP) ; YONEYAMA; Takeshi;
(Kanagawa, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FUJI XEROX CO., LTD. |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
55911663 |
Appl. No.: |
14/718935 |
Filed: |
May 21, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/109 ;
271/147 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 2601/324 20130101;
B65H 1/08 20130101; B65H 3/0684 20130101; B65H 2405/1134 20130101;
B65H 2405/12 20130101; B65H 1/04 20130101; B65H 3/52 20130101; B65H
2405/11164 20130101; B65H 3/5261 20130101; B65H 2404/17 20130101;
B65H 2405/332 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65H 1/08 20060101
B65H001/08; B65H 1/26 20060101 B65H001/26; B65H 3/06 20060101
B65H003/06; B65H 1/04 20060101 B65H001/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 12, 2014 |
JP |
2014-229542 |
Claims
1. A paper feed device comprising: a tray configured to hold at
least one recording medium; a wall comprising a portion in contact
with a leading end, in a transport direction, of the at least one
recording medium on the tray, the wall extending in a direction to
intersect the transport direction; a transport member that is
disposed on the downstream side, in the transport direction, of the
wall and configured to transport the at least one recording medium;
and an urging portion configured to urge the opening/closing member
in a direction in which the opening is closed, wherein the wall
comprises an opening/closing member that is capable of being opened
and closed to form an opening through which the transport member is
extracted toward the tray.
2. The paper feed device according to claim 1, wherein the
opening/closing member is supported so as to be rotatable about a
shaft provided at a lower part of the wall.
3. The paper feed device according to claim 1, wherein the
opening/closing member is rotatable against the urging force.
4. The paper feed device according to claim 2, wherein the
opening/closing member is supported so as to be rotatable toward
the tray.
5. The paper feed device according to claim 3, wherein the
opening/closing member is supported so as to be rotatable toward
the tray.
6. The paper feed device according to claim 1, wherein when the at
least one recording medium comprises recording media, the transport
member is a separating roller configured to separate the recording
media held by the tray.
7. A paper feed device comprising: a tray configured to hold at
least one recording medium; a wall comprising a portion in contact
with a leading end, in a transport direction, of the at least one
recording medium on the tray, the wall extending in a direction to
intersect the transport direction, a transport member disclosed on
the downstream side, in the transport direction of the wall and
configured to transport the at least one recording medium; wherein
the wall has an opening/closing member that is capable of being
opened and closed to form an opening through which the transport
member is extracted toward the tray; and wherein the
opening/closing member comprises a notch at an upper end
thereof.
8. The paper feed device according to claim 7, wherein the notch is
provided at a position closer to a control portion of the paper
feed device in a longitudinal direction of the opening/closing
member.
9. The paper feed device according to claim 1, wherein the length
of the opening is larger than the maximum length, in an axial
direction, of the transport member in a direction parallel to the
axial direction.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based on and claims priority under 35
USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-229542 filed Nov.
12, 2014.
BACKGROUND
Technical Field
[0002] The present invention relates to a paper feed device.
SUMMARY
[0003] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a
paper feed device including a tray that holds at least one
recording medium; a wall that has a portion in contact with a
leading end, in a transport direction, of the at least one
recording medium on the tray and is disposed so as to intersect the
transport direction; and a transport member that is disposed on the
downstream side, in the transport direction, of the wall and
transports the at least one recording medium. The wall has an
opening/closing member that is capable of being opened and closed
to form an opening through which the transport member is extracted
toward the tray.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] Exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be
described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:
[0005] FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an image forming
apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0006] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a paper feed device body
according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0007] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of
the paper feed device body according to the exemplary embodiment of
the present invention;
[0008] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a tray according to the
exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0009] FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views of the tray according
to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG.
5A shows a state in which an opening/closing member is closed
(i.e., in a normal position), and FIG. 5B shows a state in which
the opening/closing member is open (i.e., in a replacement
position);
[0010] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the paper feed device body
according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a transport member and the
vicinity thereof in FIG. 6;
[0012] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the
transport member and the opening/closing member according to the
exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
[0013] FIGS. 9A to 9D are diagrams showing removal of the transport
member according to the exemplary embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] Next, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will
be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0015] FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus 100 according to
this exemplary embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 includes
an image forming apparatus body 58. The image forming apparatus
body 58 includes an image forming section (not shown) that forms an
image on the basis of an image signal inputted from an external
device, such as a personal computer. A recording medium feed device
54 that feeds a recording medium to the image forming section, and
a manual paper feed device 52 that is used when a recording medium
is manually fed are attached to the image forming apparatus body
58. Besides the aforementioned feed devices, there are several
types of paper feed devices including: a document feed device 50
that feeds documents; a post-processing device 56 that is connected
to the image forming apparatus body 58 and in which a recording
medium having an image formed thereon is temporarily kept to wait
for post-processing and is then fed for predetermined
post-processing; and a paper feed device body 12 that feeds a
recording medium, such as a slip sheet, that does not require image
formation.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the paper feed device body
12 according to this exemplary embodiment.
[0017] There are multiple paper feed devices 10 attached to the
paper feed device body 12. In this exemplary embodiment, there are
an upper paper feed device 10A provided on the upper side and a
lower paper feed device 10B provided below the upper paper feed
device 10A. The upper paper feed device 10A and the lower paper
feed device 10B are provided in a substantially vertical direction
and each hold multiple recording media. Because the upper paper
feed device 10A and the lower paper feed device 10B have the same
configuration, they will be explained as the paper feed device
10.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of
the paper feed device body 12 according to this exemplary
embodiment.
[0019] The paper feed device 10 includes a tray 14 that holds
recording media; a wall 15 standing upright, substantially
perpendicular to the tray 14, from a distal end, in the
recording-medium transport direction, of the tray 14; a nudger
roller 16 that is provided above the wall 15 and serves as a
transport member; a feed roller 18 that is provided on the
downstream side of the nudger roller 16 in the recording-medium
transport direction and serves as a transport member; and a retard
roller 20 that is provided opposite the feed roller 18 and serves
as a transport member.
[0020] The nudger roller 16 picks up recording media on the tray 14
one-by-one and transports them into the paper feed device body 12.
The feed roller 18 transports the recording media fed by the nudger
roller 16 to an even downstream side. The retard roller 20 that is
in contact with the feed roller 18 separates the recording media
fed by the nudger roller 16 into individual sheets.
[0021] That is, the recording media held on the tray 14 are picked
up by the rotation of the nudger roller 16, are transported toward
a transport path 22 by the rotation of the feed roller 18 and
retard roller 20, and are transported to the post-processing device
56.
[0022] FIG. 4 shows a detailed structure of the tray 14. FIGS. 5A
and 5B are perspective views of the tray 14, wherein FIG. 5A shows
a state in which an opening/closing member 24 is closed, and FIG.
5B shows a state in which the opening/closing member 24 is open.
Note that, because FIGS. 5A and 5B are presented to show the
structure of the opening/closing member 24 and the vicinity
thereof, the illustration of guide members 26 and 26 is
omitted.
[0023] The tray 14 has a recess 34 in a holding surface thereof, on
which the recording media are placed. The recess 34 is provided
substantially in the middle of the upstream end in the
recording-medium transport direction. Furthermore, the tray 14
includes an extendable tray 36 that is extendable to the upstream
side in the recording-medium transport direction so that it is able
to hold recording media having a large length in the
recording-medium transport direction. The extendable tray 36 is
accommodated in the tray 14 when the recording media are not larger
than the tray 14.
[0024] Furthermore, the guide members 26 and 26, serving as
recording medium guide members, that guide the recording media held
by the tray 14 in the transport direction are provided on the
holding surface of the tray 14. The guide members 26 and 26 are
simultaneously moved in accordance with the width, i.e., the length
in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, of the
recording media while holding the middle portion of the recording
media. The recording media are transported toward the transport
path 22, while being guided by the guide members 26 and 26, with
the widthwise ends thereof being aligned.
[0025] Furthermore, the tray 14 is provided with a detection sensor
37, serving as a recording medium detection device, that detects
the presence of the recording media on the tray 14. When the
recording media are placed on the tray 14, the detection sensor 37
senses the presence of the recording media, and the tray 14 is
moved up to a position where the recording media are transported by
the nudger roller 16. Then, transportation is started.
[0026] Note that the wall 15 does not necessarily have to be
substantially perpendicular to the tray 14, but may be inclined
toward the retard roller 20.
[0027] The wall 15 has an opening 38 substantially in the middle.
The opening 38 is provided with the opening/closing member 24 that
opens or closes the opening 38.
[0028] The opening/closing member 24 is supported so as to be able
to rotate about a shaft 40 provided at the bottom of the wall 15.
Furthermore, the opening/closing member 24 and the wall 15 are
urged by an urging portion 42, such as a return spring, and the
opening/closing member 24 is urged in a direction in which the
opening 38 is closed. That is, the opening/closing member 24 may be
tilted from a position flush with the wall 15 toward the tray 14
against the urging force. Furthermore, the opening/closing member
24 has a semicircular notch 44 that is sized to allow a human
finger to be inserted, at the upper end thereof, on a control
portion side.
[0029] The opening/closing member 24 has projections 45a and 45a,
projecting toward the wall 15, at ends adjacent to the wall 15, and
the wall 15 has recesses 45b and 45b in the surface adjacent to the
tray 14. The projections 45a and 45a are engaged with the recesses
45b and 45b, preventing the opening/closing member 24 from tilting
toward the other side of the wall 15 from the tray 14. Hence,
without any urging force applied from the outside, the
opening/closing member 24 according to this exemplary embodiment is
flush with the wall 15 and serves to align the ends of the
recording media stacked on the tray 14.
[0030] The opening/closing member 24 is normally at a closed
position (normal position). When a transport member, such as the
nudger roller 16, the feed roller 18, or the retard roller 20 needs
to be replaced, the opening/closing member 24 is tilted toward the
tray 14, against the urging force, by a finger inserted into the
notch 44 up to an open position (replacement position). Then, the
transport member is replaced through the opening 38 from the tray
14 side. Thus, in an apparatus having multiple paper feed devices
10 arranged in a substantially vertical direction, it is possible
to replace the transport member without needing to remove the other
members (units).
[0031] Although this exemplary embodiment has described an example
in which the notch 44 in the opening/closing member 24 has a
semicircular shape that allows a human finger to be inserted
therein, the shape of the notch 44 is not limited thereto as long
as it allows a human finger to be inserted therein, and it may be
triangular, rectangular, or circular. In addition, the positions
and shapes of the projections 45a and 45a and recesses 45b and 45b
for preventing tilting of the opening/closing member 24 are not
limited to those described above.
[0032] Furthermore, the upper ends of the wall 15 and
opening/closing member 24 are rounded to enable smooth
transportation of the recording media. Alternatively, the upper
ends of the wall 15 and opening/closing member 24 may be sloped,
not rounded.
[0033] Although this exemplary embodiment has described a
configuration in which the opening/closing member 24 is opened and
closed by being tilted toward the tray 14 by the urging portion 42,
the opening/closing member 24 may be opened and closed by being
slid sideways or may be attached to or detached from the wall
15.
[0034] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the paper feed device 10
according to this exemplary embodiment, showing replacement of a
transport member of the lower paper feed device 10B. FIG. 7 is an
enlarged view of the transport member and the vicinity thereof in
FIG. 6. Furthermore, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship
between the opening/closing member 24 and the lengths of the
respective transport members. Note that, in FIG. 6, for ease of
explanation, the guide members 26 on the near side are illustrated
with a two-dot chain line, and the detection sensors 37 are not
shown.
[0035] The nudger roller 16 is connected to the torque limiter 17
and is supported by bearings 46 via a support shaft 16a. The feed
roller 18 is supported by bearings 48 via a support shaft 18a. The
retard roller 20 is supported by bearings 47 via a support shaft
20a.
[0036] In this exemplary embodiment, it is possible to attach or
detach the nudger roller 16, the feed roller 18, and the retard
roller 20 to or from the bearings by reducing the overall length
thereof by holding the ends of the support shaft 16a, support shaft
18a, and support shaft 20a, respectively, with fingers.
[0037] The length of the opening/closing member 24 is larger than
the maximum roller length, in the axial direction, of the nudger
roller 16, feed roller 18, and retard roller 20, and more
desirably, it equals the sum of the maximum roller length, in the
axial direction, of the nudger roller 16, feed roller 18, and
retard roller 20 and the working lengths, i.e., the lengths of
working spaces in which fingers hold the rollers. Because the
opening 38 has a length equal to the sum of the maximum roller
length, in the axial direction, of the transport members and the
working lengths, attachment/detachment of the transport members is
easy. Although this exemplary embodiment has described the
above-described attachment/detachment method, the length should of
course be such that it allows attachment/detachment to be performed
even in a different roller supporting method, such as a method
using a retaining ring.
[0038] The bearings 46 have gaps 46a oriented toward the bottom in
the vertical direction. The nudger roller 16 is attached to or
detached from the bearings 46 through the gaps 46a. Furthermore,
the bearings 47 have gaps 47a oriented at an upward angle relative
to a direction substantially parallel to the tray 14. The retard
roller 20 is attached to or detached from the bearings 47 through
the gaps 47a. Furthermore, the bearings 48 have gaps 48a oriented
at an angle toward the tray 14 relative to the bottom in the
vertical direction. The feed roller 18 is attached to or detached
from the bearings 48 through the gaps 48a.
[0039] FIGS. 9A to 9D are diagrams showing removal of the transport
members.
[0040] First, the opening/closing member 24 is tilted toward the
tray 14 against the urging force, and the nudger roller 16 is
removed from the bearings 46 (see FIGS. 9A and 9B).
[0041] Next, the retard roller 20 is removed from the bearings 47
(FIGS. 9B and 9C). Then, the feed roller 18 is removed from the
bearings 48 (FIGS. 9C and 9D).
[0042] When the transport members are attached, the above-described
removal process is performed in the reverse order.
[0043] With the paper feed device according to this exemplary
embodiment, the transport members located inside the device body
may be attached or detached for maintenance without needing to
remove the tray and other units.
[0044] Examples of the recording media explained in the
above-described exemplary embodiment include documents having
images thereon, besides paper to be subjected to image forming.
[0045] Furthermore, the paper feed device described in the above
exemplary embodiment is applied to sheet feed devices and document
sending devices (document feed devices), and also to image forming
apparatuses, such as copiers, post-processing devices, facsimile
devices, printers, etc., and manual feed trays (manual paper feed
devices) of the image forming apparatuses.
[0046] The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment of the
present invention has been provided for the purposes of
illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive
or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.
Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to
practitioners skilled in the art. The embodiment was chosen and
described in order to best explain the principles of the invention
and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in
the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and
with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use
contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be
defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *